Mugshot of Brian Wisbauer. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A man appeared before a judge in the V.I. Superior Court on Wednesday after being arrested for alleged assault, in what can be described as a bizarre incident involving ex-lovers.
Brian James Wisbauer was arrested and charged on Monday for second-degree assault as an act of domestic violence. His arrest follows a report placed with the 911 Emergency Call Center regarding a disturbance between him and his ex-girlfriend.
According to the probable cause fact sheet, on October 17, the ex-girlfriend was present at the Wilbur H. Francis Command to provide a statement. She said that on October 16, she received a text message from her ex-boyfriend, Brian Wisbauer. The message read in part, “..when you get home, there‘s going to be a lot of blood.” The alleged victim responded to the text stating that she would be home shortly and that Brian should not worry because she was not out drinking.
According to court documents, when the victim got home, there was blood on the door and floor, and Wisbauer’s wrists were sliced up. Wisbauer was asleep on the couch so she tried to wake him to find out what happened, however he was not responding. Instead, he showed her the cuts on his forearms. The ex-girlfriend said she suffers from panic attacks and her ex-boyfriend’s lack of response caused her to have an attack. She said she sat on the floor and started rocking back and forth, then messaged a male friend to say that she needed him and that there was a lot of blood in the home.
According to court documents, the friend came over and got the alleged victim out of the house and helped her with her breathing so she could calm herself. The friend attempted to speak with Wisbauer, and after a while Wisbauer awoke and yelled, “your cat, your cat.”
The woman asked what cat was Wisbauer speaking of, and he responded, “your cat that you fed.” According to the alleged victim, earlier that day she fed a stray cat and that must have been the cat Wisbauer was claiming came back to the home and attacked him. The friend told Wisbauer to get himself cleaned up because there was a sickness called cat scratch fever. The friend began to clean the blood off the couch while the woman cleaned the blood that was left on the floor. At that point, the alleged victim said she was no longer having a panic attack and things appeared to be okay, so her male friend left. The woman and Wisbauer then went to bed, at which point he used offensive terms to describe her, according to court documents.
The alleged victim then hit Wisbauer on his arm and asked him what he said to her. She said she did not hit him hard but he got up and started cursing at her. At that point, she got up and followed Wisbauer out of the bed to get clarity on the name that he had called her. Before she knew it, she said she was pinned down on the floor with Wisbauer straddling her.
According to court documents, Wisbauer held his ex-girlfriend by her neck with one hand and pulled down on her face with the other hand. She said he was strangling her, making it hard for her to breathe. The alleged victim then slapped Wisbauer and he placed his knees on her arms to restrict her from moving. He then took both of his hands and began pulling down on her face. One of Wisbauer's fingers was close to the alleged victim's mouth so she bit him to get him off her.
When Wisbauer got off his ex-girlfriend, she went for her phone to call her friend again to either get her or get Wisbauer to leave the home. Wisbauer slapped the phone out of her hand and took off running with it down the street. The woman gave chase to Wisbauer, telling him numerous times to give her phone back.
According to court documents, the woman then realized Wisbauer was on the phone with 911. He began to yell, “She’s after me, she’s after me.” The alleged victim followed him back to the house and at that point Wisbauer gave the phone back to the woman. The 911 dispatcher, who was still on the phone, asked the alleged victim whether she still had a blade. She informed the dispatcher that she never had a blade and that she only tried to get her phone back. She also told the dispatcher that she wanted Wisbauer to leave.
When she got off the phone with 911, the woman called her friend again and started having another panic attack. According to court documents, Wisbauer began teasing her and said, “Oh, they gonna get you now.” The friend returned to the residence and took the woman outside for a walk until police arrived. She told police that this was the first time that Wisbauer had gotten physical with her and that she was in fear for her life.
When police made contact with Wisbauer, he gave his version of events. He said the victim had been out drinking all day and that her alcohol level was not tested when she came to the station. He said he informed her via text message that the stray cat she had fed earlier that day came back to the house and attacked him. He said when she came home she got aggressive and struck him multiple times in the head and face with her hand. According to court documents, Wisbauer said he placed the woman on the floor to stop her from striking him so he could get out of the house. He said he then took her phone and ran out of the house and called the police. He denied putting his hands around her neck and strangling her. He also said she may have gotten her scratches from how wildly she was swinging at him.
Police observed that the victim had scratches on her neck and a small scratch under her left eye. She also had minor bruising on her arms. Wisbauer had long scratches on his forearm and smaller ones on his knuckles and fingers. He was placed under arrest.
In court on Wednesday, the judge ruled that Wisbauer would be released after posting $101 cash with the remainder of the $1,000 bail to be posted as an unsecured bond. After posting bail, he will be released to a third-party custodian and is barred from entering the premises where the incident took place. The judge also ruled that Wisbauer is to have no contact, directly or indirectly, with the alleged victim or any witnesses. He must also maintain a minimum distance of 1,000 ft from the alleged victim.
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